Automatic wood-turning machine.



T. D. SMITH.

AUTOMATIC WOOD TURNING MAGHINE. APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 27 19o.

1,001,561 Patanted Aug. 22, 1911.

coLUMmA PLANOOHAPH C0., wAslllNuToN. n, c.

T. D. SMITH.

AUTOMATIC WOOD TURNING HINE.

APPLICATION FILED M1122 o9 1,001,561, Patented .22,1911.

7 S-SHEET 2.

T. D. SMITH.

AUTOMATIC Woon TURNING MAGHINE.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

APPLICATION IILBD JAN. 27, 1909.

Wim/sw.

J7@ ZM CULUMBIA PLANOORAPH cD..wAsmNoToN. u. c4

T. D. SMITH.

AUTOMATIC: Woon TURNING MAGHINB.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27, 1909. 1,001,561, Patented Aug.22, 1911.

7 SHEETS-BEBET 4.

T. D. SMITH.

AUTOMATIC WOOD TURNING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLnDJAN. 27, 190e.

1,001,561. Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

cOLUMmA PLANonllASil t0.. wASluNn'rnN. n, c.

T. D. SMITH. AUTOMATIC WOOD TURNING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27, 1909.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

7 SHEETS-SHEET B.

T. D. SMITH.

AUTOMATIC WOOD TURNING MAUHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED .11.11.21, 190s.

1,001,561 Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

By ,W @M

Afl/ome) COLUMBIA PLANOOIAPII C0. WASHINGTON. D. C.

THOMAS DARLING SMITH, OF -IAIKHLTON, ONTARIO, CANADA.

AUTOMATIC WOOD-TURNING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 19111..

Application filed January 27. 1909. Serial No. 474,623.

To all wiz/om 'ift may concern:

YBe it known that I. ln'oMas DAIUJNG Su l'ru, a citizen ot the Dominion ot Canada, and resident ot the city o'l ll'amilton. in the county oit lVentworth. in the lrovince ot thitario. (lanada, have invented a certain new and use'tul Automatic Wood-Turuinel Machine; and l do hereby declare that the Aliollowimel is a tall. clear, and exact descrip-- tion ot the construction and operation ol the same. l

My invention relates to wood turningjl machi nes and has 't'or its object to produce an improved automatic machine adapted 'lor the rapid turning ot such articles. as table and chair legs. chisel haiulles, casket bars, croquet balls. mallets, etc.

rlhe Vinvention consists in general in the construction hereina'tter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings. Aformingl part of this specification. Figure lv is a Afront elevation oit' a machine embodying` my invention. Fig. 2 Vis a vertical cross sectional end view of the machine on the line 2MB Fig. l. Fig. 8 is an end view ot' the cutter head with a Vfront view protracted. Fig. -lis a side Vview ot work-snpporting' bars and cutters de'afhed from the machine. Fie'. 5 is au end view ot the machine in which is illustrated mechanism Ytor governing the operation oit the turret. Fig. (i is a il'ront view olj' mechanism t'or operating the tail spindles. Fie'. T is a side elevation ot one ot' the stainlards. Fie'. S is a top plan view ot' the inachine. Fig. t) is a side view ot' one of the standards. llig. l() is an enlarged sectional view ot screw-cutting mechanism. Fig'. l1, is a partial end view ot screw cutting;` device. Fig. lf2 is a side view detached ot cam wheel and tripping lever. Fig. 13 an inner face view ot the cani. Fig'. Ylt is an enlarged perspective view of cam and one o't' the turret heads to which the dead spindles are attaehed.

Heter-ring more particularly to the drawings. A, B, and C (see Fig. l) represent supporting standards which are bolted or otherwise secured to a suitable bed-:trame A by fasteners o. The standards A and C support the main shaft l), upon which is disposed a double turret E, lil. The lett hand portion F ot' the double turret is secured to the shaft D by set screws Z) and the right hand portion E, is adjustable longitudinally on said shalft to accommodate ditl'erent lengths ol wood, the set screw o servingl to secure said part to the shalit in any desired adjusted position.

'lhe turret head ll carries six spindles or centers F. each ol which has` upon its outer end a small gear wheel ll: in mesh with a single enlarged rear wheel (l. loosely disposed upon the main shailit l), but confined thereon against slidingl movement luitween a collar i on one side and the bearing f on standard A on the other side thereof. A set screw c serves to secure the collar I to shaft l) and against the end o'l a sleeve c loosely fitted on said shal't and upon one end o't which the lrear wheel (t is mounted7 the opposite end ol the sleeve beinev extended loosely into the beariner j". The turret head IG ol the double, turret is provided with dead spindles or centers y, longitudinally slidable in sleeves y rigidly connected to the head l0. lt is ol course understood that the spindles f/ are e |ual in number to and in longitudinal alinement with the spindles F.

llach ot the dead spindles 'r/ has a head 2-l, the lower end ot which passes through and is Isteadied by a bi'turcated arm 223 projectinn' `from the sleeve g', and the heads 23 which carry small rollers A/r have a laterally extending plate 22 to which Vis secured one end olE a coil spring' the other end of which is secured to the turret head lil. The rollers /1 cup-age a cam 'i which serves to draw the spint'lles .r/ outwardly through the sleeve o against the tension ot" springs 22 and away lrom the spindles F at the proper time to release the work supruu'ted between said spindles. it springi plate Qt bolted to the sleeve y has a, 'forwardly projectinglinger 2l secured thereto Forming a shoulder QL adapted to engage behind the heads 223 to lock the latter temporarily in outermost position, until released by a lever Q5 in a manner hereinafter described, whereupon the heads 23 and spindles r/ are pulled in the opposite direction, toward spindle F, by springs l'iear'linp' between the turret-heanls E E and into the path ol" movement ot" spindles Fand y. are blank supporting` ways 2st which support the blanks M as more clearly shown in Figs. Q and al. ik stop Q7 at the extremities otE the supporting;l ways Qt is adapted to check the blanks M in position to he engaged between the spindles g and F as Said rFhe cam z' before mentioned, is secured upon a sleeve K which sleeve is loosely mounted upon the shaft D but 'fixed against rotary movement by means of set screws y' y' passing through bearing hub 7c in standard C and engaging said sleeve. By this means the sleeve may be adjusted longitudinally of the shaft D, and the sleeve and consequently the cam z' locked against rotation. As will be more clearly seen in Fig. 13, the cam z' is in reality a disk having a part of its rim cut away to form spaced inclined surfaces or cams 28 and 30, facing inwardly toward the turret head E. A plate 29 having an outwardly facing cam surface 29 is bolted or otherwise secured to the inner face of the cam z' in such position as to cause the rollers 7L to pass between the cam surfaces 29 and 30 and beyond the cam surface 29 before coming in contact with the cam surface 28.

As the rollers z, (upon completion of a full revolution) reach the limit of their outward movement as they ride over cam surface 29, the spring finger 21, as previously described, engages behind the head 23 of spindles g and holds the same in position to receive a new blank M. After' the blank M has moved to proper position down the ways 24, a lever 42 pivoted at 42 to the cam z' is actuated through shaft 11 and connecting levers 25 and 2G to cause the integral projection 43 thereof to engage the spring finger 21, leaving the spindle free to move inwardly to impinge the blank M with suiiicient impact to cause the points of the spindles to engage and lift the blank off the ways 24. A continued rotary movement of the turret E causes the rollers 7L to engage and ride over the cam surface 28, which lforces the dead spindle to tightly engage the blank before being brought into position to be acted upon by the cutters. A safety guard 41 is secured to the cam z' by screws 41 in position to engage the spring fingers 21 in the event that the levers 25 and 26 should for some reason fail to operate.

It will thus be seen that at one time during the revolution of the turret head E the rollers 7L will engage and ride over the cam surface 29 and cause the dead spindles g to be forced outwardly to free the finished blank and into position to receive a new blank.

The blanks M are operated upon by a series of cutter heads N, N, N2, N3 and N4 (see Fig. 4) each of which is of a separate pattern and carries the necessary cutters. These blanks are mounted upon shafts O, which shafts have bearings P and P adjustably arranged in standards B and C i l l in dotted lines Fig. 7) formed in standards C. The brackets t and consequently the shafts O, and cutter heads N may be adjusted by screws r, passing through projections n adjacent the bearings and through lugs s attached to brackets t. Hand wheels Q on the outer ends of the screws 7 are provided for manually adjusting the cutters. rfhe bearings P in the standard B are mounted in the slidable hangers R (see Figs. 1, 2 and 9), the latter of which slide in recesses upon the outer surface of said standard, and are adjustable b y means of screw rods 7" working through projectors 31 in standard B and operated by hand wheels Q. rllhus by turning hand wheels Q and Q at their respective standards, shafts O and the cutters thereon may be adjusted toward or away, from the blanks to be cut, as deep or shallow cutting is desired. It will also be seen vthat the removal of set screw o, which holds journals P and hangers R in standard B, will allow suflicient room to remove and replace the cutters, without the necessity of taking the machine apart.

rlfhe driving mechanism comprises a double faced driving pulley V mounted upon a shaft U (see Figs. 5 and 6) the latter of which has mounted thereon a small gear wheel T in mesh with a large gear wheel S on the sleeve c previously described as loose upon the main shaft D. Upon a short shaft y, on the opposite side of main shaft D to shaft U, is mounted a large gear wheel 5 and a plain faced wheel 3 having a peripheral notch 2 which is adapted to receive a projection 4 depending from the horizontal arm of a bell-crank-lever 3. A weighted rod 89 attached to the free end of the horizontal arm serves to normally hold the latter down. The shaft jz/ also carries a small gear wheel in mesh with a large gear wheel W on the main shaft D, and pivoted to said shaft y is a lever 20 having at its lower end a pin 7 on which runs a small gear 6 in mesh with theaforementioned gear wheel 5. The lower end of the lever 20 is connected to one end of a lever 19 connected at its opposite end to the lower end of the vertical portion of the bellcrank-lever 3. On pin 7 and attached to its gear 6 is a pulley 8 connected to and driven from one tace of the driving pulley V by a belt 12. Upon a lower shaft 1 is mounted a gear wheel t) and a cam 3G having an inclined surface 17, driven trom the gear wheel Ll0 on loose sleeve c with which gear 9 meshes. A horizontal shatt Y11 (ben tore mentioned) extending the entire length l oit the machine is provided wlth oppositely extending tixed levers 13 and 1-t, the latter being provided at its extremity with a roller 16 in engagement with cam 36 to be moved by the said inclined surface 1T theres et. The movement et the lever lit occurs at every revolution ot' the gear 9 and causes the sha'tt 11 to oscillate and correspondingly rock the levers 13 and the bet'ore mentioned levers and QG.

A connecting rod 18 pivoted at its lower end to the extremity ot lever 121, extends upwardly and is provided adjacent its upper end with a slot fr working over a pin fr projecting from the horizontal arm ot belt-eranlelever 3.

It will thus be seen that when the lever 1-1 is forced back by the wheel or roller lt, coming in contactwith the projection 17, the lever 121 will be caused to rise and by means of the connecting rod 11S will in turn roek the horizontal arm oitl the bell-crank-lever 3 to disengage the projection 1 trom the notch 2 in wheel 2. As the horizontal arm of the lever 3 is raised in a manner justI descrilwd, the lower or vertical arm o't said lever being connected to the oscillating lever 20 by means o't' the horizontal rod 19, the lever Qt) is caused to swing with the gear (i and pulley wheel 8 into position to tighten the belt 12 on wheel S and start rotation ot' gear wheel 5 and wheel 2. As soon however, as the cam projection 1 7 passes roller 1t, connecting rod 18 drops and belt-erankdever 3 swings back slightly (but not su't'ticiently to loosen belt 1Q) until projection t reiingages the periphery ot wheel .e in position to enter notch 2, which movement (the dropping ot projection it into catch 2l permits the lever 3 to swing back sul'l'iciently to loosen beltA 12 and check said wheel after each revolution and cause the same to halt temporarily with the sha'tt D and consequently the cutter heads. This action is repeated at each revolution o1 the wheel t), it being `understood that each revolution o't said wheel t), the turrets make one sixth ot' a revolution. Vlt will also be seen that the sleeve c on sha'lt l) is constantly rotated through pulley wheel V and gears t and S.

ln order to steady lengthy blanks in position to be operated upon, Ir provide a ses ries of supports, six in number, as shown by letters a and Z, in Figs. Aft and 10, which are flexibly connected to horizontal shafts fm passing through and extending between the turret. heads lt] and E. These shafts are oseillated by levers a, which carry rollers o traveling on the periphery ol the cam L al'lxed upon a sleeve K, previously described by means of set screw 1/ on the hub j) ot said cam. The sha'tits m may constitute cutter rods to support cutters itt tor the purpose ofi cutting threads upon such blanks as used in making insulator pins. as shown in Figs. 1() and l1. 'l`o provide 'tor this, a sleeve i2 is attached to a gear wheel 1-1, to be rotated thereby, and is provided with outside threads, with which the upper end o't a chaser 325 attached to shatt fnt is adapted to engage to guide the sha'lt nr and the cutter itt secured thereto. The shatt m has a head E36 adjacent the chaser 213, and is provided with a spring $35 coiled thereabout between said head and chaser serving a double `tunction in producing a rotary tension to cause roller 0 at the end o1' lever n previously described, to ollow closely the contour o1 cam L, and to move the shat't mback to starting position when the thread has been cut and cam L oscillates the shatt to diseugage chaser C'f trom sleeve i12. \Vhilc this operation is described and shown in connection with but one ot the sha'tts nl., it will be understood that each o1 these shatts as previously descrilwd` have like means to perform like operations.

The practical operation of the machine may be described as tollowsz-Jhe blanks to be turned being placed on supports 2-1, and the driving belts on their respective pulleys on the cutter sha'lt, and the main shatt, the shatt 1l is caused to oscillate and torce the 'projection #125 on caln f' through con necting rod .Zt'i and lever Q5 to push up the spring finger 21C Iy this movement the head 2&3 ot the tail spindle f/ is released trom engagement with the shoulder il, whcreupon the spring 22 causes the spindle g, to be drawn toward one end otE the blank to be turned, with sullicient pressure to torce the wood to the lett against the opposingl centers or spindles l and tightly clamp said blank preparatory to its being li'litcd `trom the ways 21. Immediately atter the blank has been clamped between the spindles l" and r,/, the turret l ads lil and ll' are caused to rotateby the mechanism shown in Fig. 5, to make one-sixth o't a revolution bringing one o't the rollers /1 into contact with the incline Q9 on the cam wheel i, thus causing the dead spindle g, to be YForced into the end o1 thel blank, clamping it securely bet'ore thc turret head makes one sixth o'l a revolution, and bringing the blank in contact with the plain rapidly revolving cutter head N, Fig. Lt. The turret head stops, by reason o't the belt 1Q on pulley H being loosened as previously described, while the wood makes at least one tull revolution which has the ett'ect ot rounding the wood preparatory to cutting any special design upon it with the next cutter N. In the meantime the second blank slides down the Ways 24: until it engages the stop 27, When the operation is repeated, the second blank being rounded by the plain cutter N, While the first blank is carried from the cutter N, to the cutter N. rlhis operation is continued until the blanks have been acted upon by all the cutter heads.

`When the first blank arrives at cutter head N t, the required design is finished and the blank ready to be released, Which is accomplished by means of roller L, attached to the tail spindle carrying the first blank) coming in contact with the incline projection 29, on cam wheel z'. As heretofore eX- plained, the roller it traveling up the inclined surface 29, has the effect of Withdraiving the dead spindle g, (carrying the first blank) thereby releasing the finished blank, whereupon the turret heads come to a stop in the position assumed at the start.

Having thus described my device and its advantages, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. In a Wood turning machine, the combination of a double headed turret, supporting standards, a main shaft mounted in said standards upon Which said turret heads are mounted, a plurality of spindles mounted to rotate with said turrets, means for intermittently rotating said turrets comprising a large gear Wheel mounted on the end of said main shaft, short shafts mounted on either side of said main shaft, a sleeve on said main shaft and a large gear Wheel on said sleeve, one of said short shafts having` a double faced driving pulley on one end and a small gear on the other end meshing with the large gear on said sleeve and the other short shaft having a large gear Wheel, at onc end and a small gear at the other end meshing with the large gear on said main shaft, a plain faced Wheel on said lastmentioned short shaft having a peripheral notch, a lever pivoted to the last mentioned short shaft carrying a driving pulley and a small gear Wheel, a belt connecting said drive pulley With one face of the before mentioned double faced drive pulley, a double lever having a projection adapted to fit in the notch on said plain faced Wheel, and means for operating said lever thereby simultaneously lifting said projection out of.

said notch and tightening the belt connecting said drive pulleys and bringing the small gear carried by said pivoted lever into engageinent With the large gear on the end of said last mentioned short shaft, whereby said turrets Will be partially rotated.

2. In a Wood turning machine, the combi nation of a double headed turret, supporting standards, a main shaft mounted in said standards upon Which said turret heads are mounted, a plurality of spindles mounted to rotate with said turrets, means for intermittently rotating said shaft and said 'turret heads, sleeves secured to one of said turrets through Which the dead spindles are adapted to slide, said dead spindles having heads carrying rollers, a cam in the path of said rollers whereby when said rollers ride over said cam said dead spindles Will be draivn outwardly, spring dogs on said sleeves adapted to engage the heads of said spindles and hold them in outward position, a rock shaft connected to the means for r0- tating said main shaft, and an upwardly projecting rod secured to said rock shaft adapted to engage said spring dog and free said head intermittently during the rotation of said main shaft, and a spring secured at one end to the head of the dead spindle and at the other end to said sleeve.

3. ln a Wood turning machine, the combination of a double headed turret, supporting standards, a main shaft mounted in said vstandards upon Which said turret heads are mounted, a gear fixed to said main shaft, a plurality of spindles mounted to rotate with said turrets, means for intermittently rotating said main shaft, comprising a driving shaft carrying a double faced driving pulley and a gear, a short shaft carrying a notched plain faced Wheel and a gear meshing With the gear on said main shaft, a lever con- .necte'd to said sho-rt shaft carrying a gear and a pulley, a belt connecting said pulley With the pulley on said driving shaft, abellcrank-lever having a projection adapted to fit in the notch on said plain faced Wheel and then operating to loosen said belt and acting normally to hold said belt tight when bearing against the periphery of said plain faced Wheel, and means for rocking said bell-crank-lever.

Signed at Hamilton, Ontario, this 4th day of November, 1908.

THOMAS DARLING Sli/HTH. In the presence of- S. CLIVE, WM. BRUCE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

